Bitcoin Information and FAQ

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Remember, you do not have to purchase a full bitcoin. You can purchase a tenth of a bitcoin (0.1) or any other fraction. You can buy them online or in person. (We have more information about earning bitcoins or mining bitcoins). To buy bitcoins: CoinBase is an exchange based in the USA, but can be used…

Bitcoins are created using a process called “mining” which involves a computer on the bitcoin network solving a complex mathematical problem which creates a new “block.” The mathematical problem is something that is difficult to solve and demonstrates that work was done, which is called “proof of work.” The reward for solving a block is…

What are bitcoins? Bitcoins are the unit of currency of the Bitcoin system. Bitcoin is like email for money. Imagine you can send money over the internet directly to an email address to anyone, anywhere in the world nearly instantly. Bitcoin allows that. Bitcoin is a new way for people to consensually trade value without trusted…

The Bitcoin Directory has a list of many bitcoin related businesses. WordPress.com, Reddit, OkCupid.com, Namecheap domain registration, and others accept bitcoin for payment. If you run a business you can accept business easily using something like BitPay or Coinbase.

The last block generated that will generate coins will be block block #6,929,999. This block will be generated around 2139-2140, so more than 100 years in the future. It is not a problem that will impact the network in the near future. The total number of coins that will have been generated at the point will…

Yes, bitcoins are divisible. Currently bitcoins can be divided down to 8 decimal places, which means 0.00000001 BTC is currently the smallest amount possible. Smaller divisions are possible by changing the data structures which store bitcoins. So in practice bitcoins are practically infinitely divisible.

The total number of bitcoins in existence increases on average every ten minutes due to mining. In September 2013, the are currently more than 11.6 million bitcoins in existence. You can see the exact number at this link: Total Bitcoins Currently

Q: Is Bitcoin a ponzi scheme? A MLM scheme? Pyramid? Bubble? A: What is a Ponzi scheme? A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from existing capital or new capital paid by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation. Operators…

Q: What happens to lost coins? Should bitcoins be destroyed if unused? A: Lost bitcoins are just that, lost. There is no way to know if they are really lost or just in a savings account. In reality it solves nothing either since it is easy to move coins once every so often if needed.…

Q: Should There Be Tainted Bitcoins? Should bitcoins be easily trackable? [Should the bitcoin protocol be forked so as to allow the FBI seized bitcoins to be blocked or tainted in use? To block someone else’s stolen coins?] A: No fungibility is critical to bitcoin. Each bitcoin should be equal to every other. In theory…

Q: Should bitcoin be backed by something like bullion? Gold, Silver, Oil, Platinum? A: No. Bitcoin is backed by math, miners, and the protocol. Some problems with having a backing: Having something “back” bitcoin means that there has to be someone who is holding the something that is backing bitcoin. The person who is holding…

There are many misunderstandings about bitcoin transactions, and we’ll explain the facts here. First, there are two components, the transaction and then the confirmation. Transactions themselves are nearly instant, often less than a second to reach the majority of the bitcoin network. Once a transaction is in the bitcoin network with fees (and usually without)…